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Jul082008
No bribe. No license?
Ever got a driving license in your life? I’m sure most of you would have(including me) So I ask to those who have got their licenses, how many of you know the exact procedure to be followed in getting a license? 
Yeah I know many of you would have got it through bribing some official or the other. Bribes include the “extra” amounts that you pay to the driving schools as well because that money eventually goes into the pockets of those corrupt RTO officials. Alright I’ll be the first to admit that I did pay a bribe to get my license. I’m not too proud of it but I didn’t have much choice or time and my dad was getting pretty insistent I get it soon. So I just dropped into a nearby driving school, submitted my documents and paid up. But it was just yesterday that I hit upon this blog which put me to shame. It was a blog of someone who had got his license without paying a single paise of bribe! (Do such persons really exist in India??!! ) And to add insult to me, he had listed down the exact procedure of obtaining a driving license in India which I painfully did not know. It really was a good read.
Take a look at it here
Ah Ha! So anybody willing to try? Not that I blame you. I just wish I hadn’t gotten mine so fast!
P.S. If you had gotten your license without paying a bribe do post your experiences in the comments section. Your accomplishment would not go unnoticed. Not here!
The views expressed in this post are those of the writer and are not necessarily endorsed by Mutiny.in
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Shantanu
001
6:58 pm
Honestly, when i got my DL - no one even asked me a single rupee.
However, there were tons of agents who got me before I got to the enquiry window who were hell bent on scaring me - telling me how corrupt and time consuming the system is!!
I think, we are as (if not more) inclined to pay the bribe that the person across the counter is willing to take it.
Ramji
002
7:30 pm
@Shantanu: Oh so you are another one of the “extraordinaires” ! The fact that you resisted all temptation before going to the counter is something unique and not so easy to do. In the end most give up if atleast for the sheer irritation of these hagglers. The biggest temptation with bribes in DL is the lesser paper-work and the lesser consumption of time and energy. I couldn’t believe how a bribe could make the entire process of getting a DL so easy. I just turned up at the venue at the appointed time went for a ride in the bike and thats it. Infact my names were called earlier even though I went a little late and stood at the back end of the queue.
But then there is a moral obligation in not paying bribes. If we keep on doing it this practice will never stop.
shantanu.dutta
003
8:17 pm
I do not know what the full identity of the Shantanu who made the comment is but it is not me !
Shantanu Dutta
Abhi
004
10:31 pm
i got my license without any bribes. I don’t exactly remember the process now (got 20 year license in 2003 :D).
I got it in Rajasthan.
Guess that makes it 2!
minkz
005
7:07 am
I got my liscense without bribe, in Bangalore. My dad declared I was very lucky as both my older siblings had trouble. My elder sister especially. After failing her twice, he openly asked her to pay up and make her life a lot easier. She refuced him point blank. She got it on her 4th attempt out of sheer will power.
Kiran
006
9:47 am
Hi Ramji,
I got my 2-wheeler DL without paying a single paisa in bribe. It was about 4-5 years back - so I dont remember the exact procedure. However, I do remember that I had to first take a written test to get my Learner’s license. Then after about a month I went for the driving test - actually got rejected first time (because while taking a U-turn, I had only turned on the indicator light but failed to also give a hand-signal - apparently you are supposed to do both!). So I had to go back again next week to give my driving test again. This time I passed - went to collect my license a couple of days later.
I did not pay any bribe for my 4-wheeler license either. However, I had gone though the driving school (dont get me wrong - I did not go to the driving school just to get my license - i actually learned to drive there). Now I dont know whether the school paid anything behind the scenes on my behalf - although I seriously doubt that because on the day of my 4-wheeler driving test, only 2 out of 12 students from the school “passed” and were issued licenses.
This was also 3 years back and so I do not remember the exact procedures - I just followed the procedure mechanically - as I was told to do! By the way, I got both my licenses at Yeshwantpur RTO in Bangalore.
Goli
007
6:35 pm
Hi,
This is the guy who wrote out the whole procedure to get the driving license. :).
Actually whole lot of my friends in office got the license this way. I do agree that some people have bad experience. But I do believe that if you are adamant enough, and little persistent enough you might save a bit of money.
Not that I have given bribe, that is what mostly everyone keeps talking as you grow up in any part of India, and over last few years I have decided to avoid it. And so far it has worked. Let me see how long my good run continues…
Cheers